Two years ago in a grand final, Canterbury hard man James Graham showed us his bite.
But in Saturday’s 18-17 elimination playoff win over Manly, the British Bulldog demonstrated that his bark might be even worse.
With his side up 16-0 in the first-half, a ferocious Graham unloaded on teammates on two separate occasions for sloppy play as complacency set into Canterbury’s performance.
Mitch Brown was on the receiving end of the first Graham spray for popping an unnecessary offload straight into the hands of Sea Eagles captain Jamie Lyon.
Graham got within inches of Brown’s face and gave him the rounds of the kitchen as he ran back onside.
It wasn’t quite Brett Mullins shoving Mark McLinden at the Canberra Raiders back in 2000, but the aggression was there for all to see.
Then minutes later Graham’s anger appeared directed at halfback Trent Hodkinson, who soon after returning to the field from a knee injury, threw an impossible pass which Brown was unable to take on the left wing.
“What the f***!” screamed Graham, with eyes that could kill.
Hopefully poor Brown didn’t think the big Englishman was coming at him again.
Of course there didn’t appear to be anything personal about the blow ups, and Graham was entirely right – the Bulldogs had fallen asleep.
They failed to score a point when Manly had Josh Starling in the sin-bin, and seconds before halftime, Sea Eagles dummy half Jayden Hodges scored the softest of tries to close the gap to 10.
In the end they only escaped by a whisker.
Also, Graham could hardly be accused of hypocrisy.
By halftime he had 100m from 12 runs, as well as a try assist.
Especially with Hodkinson off the field, Graham’s deft passing and second-man plays made him look like a halfback in a prop’s body.
In the 2012 grand final, Graham completely lost the plot when he bit Melbourne’s Billy Slater on the ear and copped a 12-game suspension.
Saturday night showed Graham is still capable of losing his cool, but tongue lashings are far more constructive than sinking the teeth in.
Cecil
Guest
He does most of the work, he is entitled to mistakes. I'm not saying what he did was ok but anyone who has played Rugby League at a high level would have been yelled at once or twice. Most take it on the chin and try to make up for thier mistake.
Kilbongteb
Guest
So who sprays the alpha when he makes a mistake. He made two.
cecil
Guest
He is the alpha on the field. They should of been up by more but Bulldogs players started making stupid decisions. Their attack benefits everytime he is first receiver or the decoy and is a better at creating overlaps than both halves which benefit them or outside backs. If you cop a spray from him you take it as he is your leader in attack, defence, creativity and aggression.
The Barry
Guest
He has been outstanding all year but has lifted in the semis. Definitely lead candidate to be skipper next year. He was right. The dogs should have had another try or two before half time with the territory and possession they had. They lost their way and it almost cost them the game. Footy is about momentum these days and you have to point on points when things are going your way.